FINALLY...

The final post on the Ravellenic Games 2012. :)

*drum roll*

*sigh of relief*

The finish line is in sight!

"Thank God," you're thinking, "now she can finally talk about something else."

I'M ON THE COLOR DECREASE CHART! 5 more rounds and I can bind off. I'm going to make it! I promise to post a cute picture of myself wearing the sweater Monday morning, and then we can all move on with our lives.

Other than that, I'm hoping for a quiet weekend, especially since we were traveling last week. I may take Hank with me on some errands tomorrow. He quite cutely really enjoys going to JoAnn's and Bath & Body Works with me. He likes trinkets and scented bathroom soap. Sunday we have a picnic, and then Mike and Henry are going to a baseball game, so that means that I'll have the house to myself, which is pretty much unheard of. Well, Anne will be asleep upstairs, but if I get the tv to myself, I consider that nirvana.

Until Monday...

Is it me, or have I been knitting FAR too much?

I'm starting to feel a bit of pressure about the Ravellenic Games sweater. Last night, in a move of sheer desperation, I brought the sweater with me to dinner with my college girlfriends. This despite having 4 skeins of yarn hanging from the thing which is now fully the size of an adult sweater. I *thought* that I only ever needed to carry 2 colors with on on any given wrong. I mean round! Freudian.

When I started, I was contently sipping my wine while managing 2 discreet balls of yarn on the table. 1.5 glasses of wine later, there was condensation on my pattern and yarn was wrapped around everybody's water glasses. Suddenly, the pattern was asking me to manage *3* colors (while still keeping track of the insidious 4th ball) and the yarn tangling was just unparalleled. Pretty soon the colors were all starting to look the same so I put the sweater away.

This morning, I had to repair a bit of damage ("is it me, or is that blue stitch supposed to be green?!") and all is well again. I'm on round 20 of 25 on the color chart.

*long suffering sigh*

I was going to take a picture of it, but it's so close to being done that I don't want to ruin the surprise now. It certainly ain't gonna be done by tomorrow, so no picture for you til Monday, sorry. But as long as I post to the finish line by 7 pm EST Sunday evening, I'm good. Here's hoping.

Are you sick of my obsessive knitting stories? So sorry...

...but they continue, so you'll have to remain in suffering. At least until Sunday.

I FINISHED THE MITTENS.

And was rewarded with my medal:

I'm all super thrilled. This is one Christmas gift down. We won't talk about the rest of the Christmas list, lest I get overwhelmed before it's even September 1st. But these are for my dad, and I'm happy that he'll have them prior to his winter fishing season, which begins in November.

The sweater lives on, so never fear. I'm now on round 16 of the yoke color chart (of 25 total rounds). Then just an 8 round color decrease chart, and voila! Bind off. I'm almost there. Trouble is, knitting with multiple colors (I believe what I'm doing is called Intarsia; there is also Fair Isle knitting, but that's something different, involving so many colors at one time it makes me break out in hives just to think of it) means that I'm working much slower than usual. I have 4 skeins of yarn currently attached to my sweater. To prevent them from all tangling together and/or not ready at my current round for when I need them, I have to "carry" the colors I'm not currently using as I knit. Any one round only uses 2 colors at most, so I'll carry both along as I knit, tucking the unused color behind the other stitches as I go. The colors that I'm not using at all that round I just carry up at the beginning of the round/join. It's all very precarious and nerve wracking for a person naturally afflicted with some level of anxiety. But it's looking quite lovely.

I just hope I finish it on time.

Back, but feeling frantic

I was returning from our family trip over the weekend to northern Pennsylvania for a baby shower. Let's just say that at one point, when Anne was sobbing in the back from within her car seat, Mike turned to me and said:

"Remember how you wanted to drive 10 hours to Maine in the fall to see your sister? When you think about that again, just remember THIS MOMENT."

By which Mike isn't advocating that I not visit my sister, just that I should fly there on an airplane while he stays behind to care for the children. He thinks Anne just isn't ready for such a long car trip, and before this weekend, I thought he was wrong. I've changed my opinion. Sigh.

Anyway, it was tough to get a lot of knitting in this weekend, but I did do some after the kids went to bed and we were sitting around socializing. Mitten #2 just needs the finger holes (which I have discovered that I loathe knitting, but it's too late to turn back now) and my sweater is:

Almost done!

I'm on the yoke, and am 8 rounds into the colorwork. There are 17 more rounds on the color chart, and then a small color decrease chart. After that chart is done, it's to the bind off! I really hope I get everything done. I'm optimistic, but I'm cutting it a bit close.

I'll report back in tomorrow, and hopefully I'll be close to done on both projects. Lots of knitting to commence this evening.

The week in review...

"Hey Honey! Did you know that that cute young swimmer, Missy Franklin, goes to a Catholic school and is thinking about becoming Catholic? And that there is a Catholic from the U.S. team in the judo competition?"

"How do you always know all these cute Catholic news items and facts?"

"From my Facebook news feed. I subscribe to the Catholic News Service and our diocese. Plus, I'm friends with a couple of priests."  *beams*

"Why am I not surprised?"

So, I've been doing lots of knitting and watching of the Olympics. My sweater is still just a giant seafoam-colored tube, but I'm within a single inch of the armhole shaping. I'm really getting there! In mitten world, mitten #1 is mercifully complete. I'll cast on for #2 today.

In a move that has endeared this yarn shop to my very heart, Jimmy Beans Wool came out with a limited edition Olympics colorway for 3 weights of the Lorna's Laces yarn that they carry: fingering/sock, worsted, and DK. The promotion is called "Medal Madness" and for each medal that Team USA wins, they lower the price of the yarn. Obviously, it won't ship until after the Olympics are complete, but you can pre-order now. I mean, how fun! The yarn is, well, let's just say a *hair* more expensive than what I usually pay for a single skein, but this seemed like an exception. One skein will make a pair of socks, and I figured I could make myself a commemorative pair of socks for my first Ravellenic Games. I excitedly pre-ordered a skein of the sock weight and I can't wait to receive it.

Hence, I am now obsessed with Jimmy Beans. My heart still belongs to Knit Picks, but Jimmy and I have started meeting on the side. I have a feeling that our illicit relationship will reignite on the first of each month when he releases the next new limited edition colorway in the Lorna's Laces yarn. It feels a bit scandalous, but it's just between you and me, ok? I *heart* you, Jimmy.

In news of people who are not feeling so sunny, Anne decidedly woke up on the wrong side of the Pack 'n Play this morning. She whined around the house while we ate breakfast and when I offered to pick her up, she came next to me only to throw herself to the ground and attempt to yank the tablecloth clear off the dining room table. When I held out her bottle to her, which almost always soothes her, she walked from clear across the room to *slap it*. She also roughed up her poor little barking puppy dog when he didn't respond to her demands. I think somebody is getting yet another new tooth. Sigh.

Henry's Fontanini nativity set finally came. If you ever order Fontanini stuff, use the main web site for the company, rather than any other small distributor. The set I ordered for Hank took forever to arrive, and when it did, the company I purchased it from had stuffed the boxes into a shipping box that they barely fit in, so they were damaged. The products are fine, thankfully, but the boxes look like somebody beat them up. And you want the boxes to store the stuff in each year. I was a bit disappointed about that. The main Fontanini store that I linked to is awesome. I helped my mother-in-law order some additional stuff for Henry from them (some shepherds and camels that she wanted to get him) and she received her items within 5 days and in tip top packaging.

At any rate, I did get a good price, and the set is beautiful. I also got him the 3 kings and their "tent." The company gave me a free angel because of the lengthy delay in shipping, which is actually quite nice. So, he's going to have a beautiful set this year. I can't wait to give it to him in November.

I hope that everybody has a great weekend. :) It's August, which I much prefer over July. The anticipation of fall is in the air, no?

Anne's world

She's grown a ton, no? She definitely has her own little personality, this one. She's very independent (I predict lots of "I do it MYSELF! exclamations in our future) and sociable, and super happy. Her hair has lightened up quite a bit, but she still has blueish eyes. And she's super petite.

Henry's toddler growth chart measurements:

Height: 100%
Weight: Not even on the chart it's so high
Head circumference: 95%

He was tall, chubby, and had a big head.

Anne's toddler growth chart measurements:

Height: 25%
Weight: 30%
Head circumference: 25%

She's *tiny*. Definitely still chubby though, despite her small measurements. :) She's super adorable, running around in her summer rompers.

Ravellenic Games update: I'd say I'm about 60% done with my sweater. I have about 2.5 inches more to knit before I can separate for the top front and back panels. I'd like to get through that tonight, but I may not quite make it. I should at least get close.

We're heading into week 2, and so far I'm on schedule. But we're going away this weekend to visit family in Pennsylvania and attend a baby shower so we'll see how well I do being away. I hope this doesn't disrupt my pace.

Nervous.

My sweater is...

...about half done. :) I'm on the waist shaping increases, heading rapidly towards the bust and armholes. I'd say I'm about 40-45% done.

My mittens, on the other hand, could use some TLC. They are officially classified as "fingerless," as in they don't have full fingers. But these mittens do have finger "openings" if you will, individual ones for each finger. And knitting each finger is pretty fiddly with my long double pointed needles. We're getting there though. I had to pull back the pinky because I didn't like the way it turned out, and now it looks much better. I also knit the ring finger hole and that one seems fine (using Mike as my model).

Ok, fellow knitters, I need your opinion. I'd like to experiment (after the Olympics :)) with toe up socks knit 2 at a time. Who has done this and do you prefer it over knitting socks from the cuff down one at a time?

"Sweetie, what's that smel..." "NOTHING!"

In the spirit of my knitting Olympics, I finally blocked a bunch of colder weather items that have been sitting on top of our radiator since approximately March. Blocking means simply soaking them in cold water with some wool friendly wash and then laying them out to dry flat in the shape that you want the item to be. Wool is an amazing fiber. When it is wet, you can shape it however you like, and it will dry to those exact specifications. It's like clay. It also wicks moisture while you're wearing it, and keeps you exceptionally warm.

So, I blocked my sweaters, and set them out to dry on our bedroom floor. There aren't a lot of other places I could be doing this, you see. Our house isn't small, but nor is it large. And with Anne running around, there aren't many spots that I can have things lying out that I don't want chubby little fingers to get into. So our bedroom floor it is.

A few nights ago, I walk into our bedroom where Mike is already tucked into the covers, reading a book. From the doorway, I can see his nose twitching. I quickly set to work getting dressed for bed, acting completely innocent, as if it didn't smell like a pack of soggy dogs had run through our bedroom just moments before.

"Sweetie, what's that smell in here? Is that your...sweaters?"

"Well, yes. It's just wet wool, it'll go away."

"I hope so." *brows creased*

And unfortunately for Mike, that same scene was repeated the next night because my blocking backlog was so vast. He survived.

I knit 2.5 more inches on my sweater and am now ready to increase. Go Team Knit Picks Lovers!

Ravellenic Games Day 3, and grateful for Ordinary Time...

Ok, so I've been watching a lot of the Olympics. And I've been knitting while I do so. A lot. Well, I mean, I have 2 small children, which translates into = Not Nearly As Much As I'd Like To. But I've been getting a lot done.

Friday afternoon I threw caution to the wind, and cast on right from my desk during the Mass Cast On. Sisterly Knitting Energy wrapped itself around me like a cashmere/Merino wool blend. I was so excited I could hardly contain myself. Later, after dance class, I picked up my fledgling sweater and began to lovingly knit again. I got about 5 rounds in, and I could really see the pattern developing. The fabric is absolutely to die for. Then I saw it.

IT.

There it was. A twist in my in-the-round knitting. What does this mean? It means that, despite how careful I was, when I joined my cast-on row in the round, the stitches were slightly twisted on one side, and now my fabric was twisted. Unless I wanted a moebius sweater, or to steek a cardigan, this is a fatal condition, and I must rip back.

I.was.CRANKY.

I hadn't gotten that far, but I still didn't want to have to start over. Plus, my cast-on was all symbolic and perfect.

Instead of taking this hit like a mature person, I bitched about it to Mike, and then stubbornly stayed up until nearly midnight to knit back to where I had to pull it out.

The next morning I was tired, but determined. I worked on the sweater when I could, and am now past the waist shaping decreases and have 2.5 inches to go before I have to increase for the bust and armholes. I'm a very happy woman on a mission.

Tonight, my goal is to get to those increases. I think I can do it. The sweater is now going so well that I also cast on for a pair of fingerless mittens to enter in the Mitten Medley.

I'm insane.

But on a related note, who else is highly amused that the female beach volleyball players have had to cover up more because the weather is so chilly and rainy in London?

*raises hand*

And modesty aside, seriously. WHO (I ask you) looks good in teeny tiny bikini bottoms running around chasing after a ball on a bunch of sand? I don't care how slim are, NOBODY looks good in this situation. You spend 75% of the time not-so-delicately yanking aforementioned bottoms back to where they should be, and my friends, this is not a flattering look. If you are a teenager, please take note of this. In this case, MORE really is more.

Ok, moving on. I'll post pictures of my in-progress sweater later this week. Henry and I attended Mass yesterday, and I think that finally everyone has gotten the hang of the new responses. And I know there is still some disgruntlement amongst some Catholics about the new translation, but I really like the new responses. Having attended the Mass in Latin recently, I can say that the new responses are much closer to those from the Extraordinary Form. I like them very much.

And as Henry and I sat during the Homily, I was thinking about how nice this summer stretch of Ordinary Time is. It's a good time for contemplation on key parts of the Gospel (the multiplication of the loaves and fish yesterday) and is a wonderful buildup to the busy fall season of saint feasts and Advent.

By the way, Advent is *late* this year; it doesn't start until December 2nd! I can't remember the last time the first Sunday of Advent wasn't Thanksgiving weekend. I'm sad about this, since I'm super excited for Advent to come.

*frowns*

And so it begins...

Today is the big day, and I'm busting my buttons I'm so excited. I have to swatch at knitting lunch today (that's considered "training" and ok to do prior to the start of the Games) and then I'll be all set to cast on later today.

I'll be posting about my progress, so you'll learn lots and lots about the sweater making process, bet you can't wait. By next week at this time, I hope to be well through the body (this is knit from the bottom up), including waist shaping, and nearing the division of front and back toward the armholes. As the second week gets to halfway, I need to be at the yoke colorwork, otherwise I won't make it. To post my project to the finish line, I need to have it bound off with all ends woven in by 7 pm EST on Sunday August 12th. I think I can do it, I really do. And if I finish early, I have a project lined up for the Mitten Medley. Because I'm just that crazy.

And yes, crazy people like me can enter events after the Games begin, so long as it's a fresh project you didn't start before the Opening Ceremonies. The key is *finishing* new projects prior to the end of the final day.

I've always been a person that likes having a goal as motivation, and knitting provides lots of those for me. There's always a new challenge in technique or approach to try, and new exciting projects to move on to. It's such a wonderful, wonderful craft. I used to solely crochet, and I still do crochet sometimes. But knitting has taken over as my first crafting love, and I'm so grateful for it.

Update to be posted Monday after my first weekend of Sweater Triathloning. :)

Happy Feast of St. Anne :)

And it's also raining here today, so obviously, it's a good day. We had thunderstorms overnight, which woke me, but thankfully not the kids. I've been SO sleepy. Last night I slept good aside from the thunder wake up call, but my body feels like it hasn't caught up from poor sleep the night before with Anne. So blogging will be light today. I can barely keep my eyes open. And somehow, I have to look alive on the reference desk from 3-5 pm today, and then go to a belly dance class later. Sigh.

At any rate, I'm all excited by the Ravellenic Games starting tomorrow, and have my yarn and needles all packed and ready to go. I will be posting updates as the Games unfold on how my sweater is progressing. I'm ridiculously excited.

Ravelete for the Sweater Triathlon, reporting for duty!

Yesterday afternoon, none of my beloved knitting friends could make it to our usual daily lunch session, so I was pitifully knitting by myself in my office. I was surfing Ravelry while I worked, the big online community for knitters and crocheters. Suddenly,  I honed in on something that I hadn't been paying much attention to, but that all of a sudden caught my interest like a house on fire:

The Ravellenic Games 2012.

No, not the Ravelympics; apparently that is a trademark violation.  *troublemaker lips firmly zipped* But the Ravellenic Games, in which thousands of knitters compete to finish ambitious projects during the span of the Olympics. The more I clicked through the rules and associated boards on Ravelry, the more excited I got. I rushed home in a tizzy.

Mike: "Do you mean to tell me that there is such a thing as a knitting Olympics and that there are events entitled things like Felting Freestyle, Afghan Marathon and *Sock Put*?"

"YES!!!!!!! Isn't it wonderful?!"

"This may be the cutest thing you've ever told me."

It took me a while to figure everything out, but I think I'm finally all set. I'm officially a member of Team Knit Picks Lovers, competing in the Sweater Triathlon event.

*squeals*

Yes, I'm going to try and knit an entire sweater in 16 days. The pattern I chose is Summer Set by the Sea, and as the name would indicate, it's a very summery garment with short sleeves, so it's ideal for late summer and early fall. This also makes it faster to knit. :) Although it *does* involve some tricky colorwork at the yoke, so that will pose a bit of a challenge. I'm going to be knitting it in Knit Picks Comfy, which is a Pima cotton/acrylic blend, and the colors will be Seafoam (main color), Honeydew, Bison, and Ivory, a very beachy/seashell inspired palette.

I couldn't possibly be more excited. When I woke up this morning (exhausted, because Anne is getting a new molar and needed some cuddles at 4 am) I remembered the Games and my project and I got that excited feeling in my stomach, like when you're a kid and you wake up on the first day of your vacation.

The mass cast-on (couldn't you just die?!) is set for Friday at 4 pm EST, when the opening ceremonies officially begin in London. 

Did I mention that I was excited?